Boston Computer Society - Sinclair Timex User Group Newsletter

CALENDAR

Wednesday, January 20, 1988.
7:00 pm. General meeting.
Subject: File transfer between
storage devices on Sinclair
gomputers. This is a catch-all
title that will inelude some

interesting work with the TS2068.

January 16, 1988.
QL sub-group

Saturday,
11:00 am ta 4:00 pn.

meets at John Mitchell's home in
Weatwood, Visitors welcome, but
call John for directions to let

him know you are coming and bring
some food. 366-5420.

Future event: Telecommunications

with Sinclair computere. Deson-
strations of BEBSes and various
terminal programs for going
on-line with your Sinclair. This
event will be scheduled when we
can find a location with a
telephone jack to meet. Call

Peter Hale 723-8545 if you know 4
Place. Schedule for the third
Vadnesday of a month.

PHOSE DIRECTORY

General Questions John Kemeny

263-3347
Machine Language John Kemeny
263-3347
Hardware Library Lee Bali
492-8662
Software Library P?? +
Editor (pro tem) Peter Hale
723-8545
QL-sub group Peter Hale
729-8548
Plexi-BBS 648-7652
Sysop: Bob Cutter 640-4425
TIMEWARP 481-0555
Sysop: Jim Rodlin 481-2155
Will Stackman
547-0655

SINCLAIR/TIMEX WEVSLETTER
EDITOR! AL

1988 will be the year Str Clive
turns the lap top computer market
upside down with his new 7288
based on the Z80 microprocesscr.
- Available for under $400.00.

1988 will also be s
renewal for the Sinclair Timex
Newsletter. In the past year the
QL sub-group has grown from 5 to
22 out of the i688 BCS members
checking off Sinclair/Timex.

year of

(More than Victor's 106,
than Heath/Zenith'e 212,
long way from IBM’s 14785.)

leap
and a

The renewed newsletter grows out
of QL sub-group activities, sa
there ts focus on QL-abita. That

ia etrictly a result of current
active interest, but we support
ail Sinclair compute Ve

solicit material from everyone.

Note our own Calendar elsewhere
for an example of the range of
activities we will be having.

Of particular interest we are
pleased to announce that there
are two Sinclair BBS's in the
Boston area. Both will soon be
operating at 1200 baud, as well
as 300 baud.

I will be editor pro tem, a role
fron my stint aa ‘editor’ for the
QL sub-group newsletter.

Please don't hesitate to contact
ma at (617) 723-8545 with your
ideas. Send contributions to me
at Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114.

Peter Hale

Bioclair/Timex Fewsletter January 1986 page 1

T/S_1000 CORNER

l wrote thie program one day
abile trying to figure out how
to read the TS1000 display file.

10 REM MINES by Jin Rodlin

20 LET x=15

30 LET y=10

40 LET acPEEK 16396 + 256%
PEEK 16397

50 PRIBT AT 21, RND*31;CHRS 4; AT
21,RND*31;CHRS 4; AT 21,31;" "

60 LET y#y+(1 AFD INKEYS = "6")
+ (-1 ABD INKEYS = "7")

70 LET x=xt+(1 AND INKBYS = "5")
+ (1 AND ISKEYS = "6")

80 IF PEBK (SC+33KCy?+x+1> = 4
THEN GOTO 120

90 PRINT AT y,x;"+"

100 SCROLL

110 GOTO 50

120 FOR Z* 1705

130 PRINT AT y,x¢"*" | AT yx;
“C INVERSE ASTERISK)"

140 HBXT z

140 PRIST AT y, x;CRR® &

Rotes: Line 130: Use SHIFT-9 "x"
SHIPT-9 for inveree asterisk.

The point of this program is to
figure out what's on the ecreen
eat a particular print positton.

It's a game of driving «4 jeep
through a minefield. Use arrow
keys to avoid the mines. If you

hit amine, the jeep biows up
and the game stops.

Most computers (including the
2068) e«tore display filea as 24
rows each with an even number of
characters. It 19 sore compli-
cated [Simpler? Ed.) in the T/S
1000 mand 2X-81. To conserve
memory, the engineere at Sinc-
lair Research developed an
ingenious wethod of storing the
display file: a blank screen
consists of 25 ENTERS. What a
T/S 2068 takes over 6 kilobytes
to do is done on a T/S 1000 with
only 25 bytes! The first byte in
the display file is an BANTER and
each row of the TS1000's display
consists of the characters in
that row, plue ENTER,

(This dats storage method 16
only used when there ‘es leas
than about 3 174 K af free RAM.

With expanded memory, the ecreen
ia stored conventionally. with
32 bytes + ENTER for each line. >

However, this creates a
nightmare for the programmer who
wants to read the display Ddut
does not know what is on the
ecreent Since the contents of
the computer's memory are
conetantly changing, the display
file movea around a lot. This ie
because the display file te
stored abowe a etored program in
memory. When program lines are
added or deleted, the display
file ie shifted up or down in
RAN to fill in the gape. <Thie
ie why the soreen clears each
time you enter a command).

variable called
keepe track of the
file'e location. The
16396 + 256% PREK
10397 returne the start of the
display file. In line 40, »scr
holde thie value.

A eyeten
“D_FILE"
dieplay
formula PEBK

Line 50 printe a epace at the
right edge of the screen every
time. In an unexpanded machine

thie ie neaded to ensure

that
each line hae 32 characters.

Line 40 finds the beginning of
D_FILE. Bach line has 32 bytes
pilus RBTEBR, so for each row down
the screen add 33. To look at
the Eth column of that row, look
forward WN bytes plus one (the
firet byte of D_PILE ie alwaye
ENTER>. PEEK that location to
get the character code for the
character FRINTed there. The
character at 12,14 will be:
CHRS (PEEK D_PILE+33%1241441)

The magic formula ie in line 80
of the program. When it finde a
mine printed in thie location,
it meane you've run over it and
the gane ends. Have funt

- Jim Rodlin

Sioclatr/Timex Newsletter January 1988 page 2

SUPPLIBR NOTES

Henry April. familiar to all as
the owner of EZ-Key, has retired
from national retailing. HOWEVER,
Henry's contacts are as good as
ever to help new customers and
old with bardware and software
for various Sinclair computers.

itena
Bits

Henry has in stock some
for all Sinclatr computers.
of software and various books,
and items of hardware. Henry's
number ts 773-9520 in Wollaston.

Don't forget that Curry Computer
Box 5607, Glendale, AZ 85312-5607
(602) 978-2902 is a well stocked
supplier to all Sinclair computer
lines as wall as a wide range of
software and hardware for the QL.

For all who have
for the price of a

been waiting
QL to come

down, BE IT KNOWN that you can
now get a complete QL for only
$99, 00. A+ Computer Response,
P.G. 220, Centre St., Sullivan,

WH 03445. Phonat (603) 847-9561
is closeet and worth the driva to
meet the folks.

Bob Dyl, who many of you
remenber aa the owner of English
Micro-Connections is back in
business providing supplies and
accessories to computer users.
Bob trades as Diaka 'N’ Things,
15 Kilburn Ct, Bewport, RI 02840.
Phone: (403) 849-3808.

-Although freight from Newport
may make some prices uncompet-
tive with your favorite local
supplier on the heavier items,
Bob haa very good prices on high
qualtty dieca and can eupply low
cost replacement ribbona for
virtually any printer made. You
can also choose colors for only a
dollar a ribbon more. Write for
a catalogue.

Telecomainucations
and the
Timex/Sinclair Computer

It is often difficult for ba-
ginners to find help with Tele-
communications with Timex/Sin-
elair computers. Thies column may
ease the situatian a bit.

Besides a computer, you need a

modem and the software cailed a
terminal program. The terminal
progran turns your emart

computer into a 'dumb' terminal.
The modem allawm communication
over telephone iines to a anart
computer running at the other
end. You transfer computing
powar to the other computer.

The T/5 2068, T/S 1000, and
21-81 use the same modem. Made
by Westridge Communications, the
2080 modem runs at 300 baud
(about 30 chare per second) and
caste © $40.00. It plugs in tha
back of the computer and a cable
connects to your telephone fack.

Two terminal programs are
available. One, called NTERR,
te about $15.00 and ie very
eney to vee. It is available for
the T/S 1000 or the T/S 2068. A
more versatile (but more expen—
@ive) one (for the T/S 2066 or
Spectrum only) te Specterm-64.
It ham 64 column dieplay,
eupports Xmodem file tranefere
and ia generally a batter buy.

Two dealers that carry the
2050 modems and software are:

RAG Boterprices

1419 '/> Seventh St.

Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 655-7484

BBS (803) 686-8072

G & C Computer Products

P.Q. Box 2186

Inglewood, CA 90308
(213) 759-7406

BBS (213) 329-3922

Binclair/Timex Newsletter January 1988 ‘page 3

The Sinclair OL can use any
‘etandard' Hayes compatible 300/
1200 baud modem @ $90.00 and up.
A device called a ‘Modaptor’ ie
needed to run at 300 baud (many
BBSee can only run at the slower
300 baud rate). {See MIKE_TBRM

for the QL, elsewhere in this
newsletter. Ed.) There are
e@everal terminal programs out

for the QL, the lateet of which
ie O-Link. {Reviews of this and
others, please. Ed.] These and
other QL products are carried
by:

SRARP'S Inc.

Route 10, BOX 489
Mechaniceville, VA 23111

(804) 746-1004 (Ganm-4pm)
(804) 730-9607 (Opm-10pm BST?

Por -» long tise there was no
one source of information for
the T/S telecommunications user.
Then Pete Fiecher and Steve
lebiit cape up with The Guide to
Timex/Sinclatr Telecommunica—
tions. Thie 100 page booklet is
the single sost comprehensive
source of itnformation for the
T/S modem umer (ZX-81 to QL).
$7.50 ppd from Pete Piecher,
P.O. BOX 2002, Tempe, AZ 85281.

The woet common use of the
moden is to call the numerous
free Bulletin Board Systems, or
BBSea, that are scattered across
the country. In most cases, a
BBS 1s eomeone's personal compu~
ter with special software hooked
up to a modem so people can call
it and leave messages for aach
other. Some BBSee have software
that let you download to your
computer while you're onlina.
Boards provide a place for T/5
and QL anthusiaeta from all over
the cauntry to meet and exchange
ideas, news, and software for
their favorite computers.

For local support, thi are
two: T/S BBSes in Massachusetts.
Both are running on T/S 2068
compute 24 hours a day. The

firet ite called Fiext-BBS at
(817) 648-7651. The other is
TIMEWARP at (617) 481-0555.
Give them both a call!

The next article will go more
deeply inta the how-to's of
teleconsunications, with some
wore detaile about available

-hardware and eoftware.

- Jim Rodlin

(Jim Rodlin ie a racent convert
to Sinclair computing. Mostly
he vee the 2068 but is exploring

the QL. Jin ie Sysop of
TIMBQRP, a BBS running on a T/S
2068 at (617) 481-0555. Jim ie

aleo reeponsible for eeveral
articles in this newsletter.
Ba.)

SOFTWARE LIBRARY

Commencing with the BCS fiscal
year beginning April 1, 1988, the
S/TUG will offer public domain
software at a price of $5.00 per
microcartridge, disk or cassette,

Watch for a catalogue oft
intraductory software in the

upcoming March issue of this
newsletter.

We need members to contribute
interesting utilities aa well as
more extensive programs. Bxisting
copies of public domain software
may also be tncluded.

See the article elsewhere on
TELECOMMUNICATIORS.

Sinclair/Timex Wewaletter January 1968 page 4

2068 WINDOWS

bardware techno-
logy progressed, software tm
proved as well, although at a
slower pace. Progran front-ends
(the program's display) have
become more sophisticated, evol-—
ving from simple prompts and
menus, to pull-down menus,
icons, and now apltt screane and
windows. Today, it is not uncom
mon to see computer displays
with multiple, independant,
scrolling windows running dif-
ferent programs in each. While
the unexpanded T/S 2068 has
insufficient memory to evpport
the complicated windowing and
graphics you see on the newest
computers, it is enpable of some
very impressive diaplays.

Ae computer

Did you know that the 2068 is
capable of 80 column displays?
Or dual screen mode? These are
advanced video modes of the T/S
2068 which we will explore in
future articles.

The 2068 ia quite
manipulating windows,

capeble of
too.

Vindows may be tuplenented in

ready to be closed, you can

copy the stored data back to the
display file and restore the
screen. This ie the method that
the program below uses. In fact,
the key to the whole program ie
in the M/C routine DATA state-
mant in line 5. The disaesembly
of the routine te in Figure 1.

The inetruction "LDIR" does
the actual copying. The BC regi~
eter holds the number of bytes

ta move (1800 hex = 6144, which
la the number cf bytes in
D_FILE, the area of RAM where
the screen is kept). DB holde
the destination address (2757
hex = 59223, the firet byte
after the end of the code! Thie

ie where we copy the ecreen ta),

and AL pointe to the etart of
D_PILB. So LDIR copiea BC bytes
from HL to DB. RBT eends us

back to basic.

The
s92i1,
in revers

mecond part, beginning at
does the me thing - but
order. The data that

we eaved to 2757 the first time
i@ now copied back into the
dieplay file (You may have

several ways but there is one noticed that the addressee in DE
requirement for any windowing and HL were switchad).
eyetem <A window must preserve
any underlying text when it If you don't understand any of
opens. Tha simplest way ts to thie, don't worry. Tt is6 not
copy the entire display ftle tao necessary to know how the
a@ place in memory before it is routine works in order ta use
opened. After the window ie itt All you need to know is

Address HEX Addr Bytes Mneronicea Botes

89199 R73F ,010018 LD BC, 1800 How many bytea to copy

s9202 E742 1157E7 LD DE, E757 E757 = destination

59205 E745 210040 LD HL, 4000 4000 = start of D_FILB

59208 E748 EDBO LDIR Copy from HL to DE

59210 E74A co RET RETurn to bastc

59211 E74B 010018 LD BC, 1800 #* Bytes to copy

59214 E74E 110040 LD DE, 4000 Deetination = screen

$9217 E752 2157E7 LD HL, E757 Where ecr its stored

59220 E754 EDBO LDIR Move bytes back again

59222 E750 cg RET RETurn to basic

~Hate; All numbere are hexadecimal except firet column-

Figure 1

Sinclair/Timex Newsletter January 1988 page 5

1 REM 2068 WINDOWS by Paul Binghas
2 REM From SYNCVARE HEWS 4:2
4 REM The program shows three examples of windows. The key
routine is the GOSUB 9000. E.G. line 120 gives the width, depth,
row and column of the window. Any text we want in the window can
be done in BASIC ae usual as in lines 140, 180 and 220.
5 CLEAR 59198: DIM w$(3,11): LET a$="VINDOW': LET bS="prese":
LET store=59199: LET renew=50211: LET lower=23659:
POR teatore TO 59222: READ f: POKE t,f: NEXT t
6 DATA 1,0,24,17,87,231, 33, 0,64, 237,176, 201,1,0,24,17,0,64,33,
87,231,237,176,201: REM (sets up LDIR code)
10 POR t*65368 TO 68431: READ a: POKE t,a: FEIT t
11 DATA 15,8, 8, 8,232, 232,232, 232,255,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,285,2,1,1,2,
1,1,2,232, 232,232, 232,232, 232,232,232,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1, 232,
232, 232, 239, 224, 253, 255, 255, 0,0, 0,255, 0, 288,253, 255,1,1,1,
255,0,224, 224,224
100 POKB lower,0: FOR f=1 TO 76: PRINT "1234567690";: NEXT ¢:
PRINT "12345678": POKE lower,2
210 LET x=USR store
120 LET n=i: LET wS(n>e"11,12,02,03": GO SUB 9000
140 PRINT AT 4,6;a8;AT 6,8;"#1"; AT 11,5; bS; "2"
180 IF INKBYS$<>"2" THER GO TO 150
160 LET k=USR renew
170 LET n#®2: LET w8(n>="13,20,02,17": GO SUB 9000
180 PRIET AT 5,21; a8;AT 7,23;"@2"; AT 19, 20; b&; "3"
100 IF I1NKBYS<>"3" THEN GO TO 190
200 LET k=USR renew
210 LET n#*3: LET w$<n)="10,08,16,04": GO SUB 9000
220 POKE lower,0: PRINT AT 17,6;a8;AT 19,8;"@3";AT 22,6;
b$;"E": POKE lower,2
230 IF INKBYS<>"2" THEN GO TO 230
240 CLS: PRINT AT 8,6;°";: FOR t=l TO 20: READ a:
PRINT CHRS a;: NEXT t
245 DATA 77,111,118, 101,32, 2111, 118,101, 114,32, 77, 65,67, 105,120,
216,111,115, 104,33
280 GO TO 99909
9000 LRT weVAL w8(n, TO 2): LET d=VAL wS(n, 4 TO 5):
LET r=VAL w8(n, 7 TO 8): LET ceVAL w&in, 10 TO 21)
9010 IF r+d>24 OR c+w232 THEN PRINT AT 21,10;
"Window's too bigt": STUP
9020 IF r+d>22 THEN LET lowe0: let r3“24-r-d: GO TO 9040
9030 L&T low=2: LET r3=2
9040 LET rd=r+d-2: LET ewect+we3
9050 POKE lower, tow: PRINT AT r,o;CHRS 144;: POR tec TO cw:
PRINT CHRS 145;: NBXT t: PRIHT CHRS 146
9060 FOR ter+1 TO rd: PRINT AT t,c;CHRS 147;
9070 FOR f=c TO cw: PRINT " ";: WEXT f: PRINT CHRS 148;: WEXT t
9080 IF r3=0 THEN OVBR 1: FOR t=1 to 32-w: PRINT " "it WEXT t:
OVER 0: PRINT CHRS 149;1 POR tec TO cw: PRINT CHRS 150;:
BRXT t: PRINT CHRS 151: POKB lower,2: RBTURN
9000 PRINT AT rd4+i,c;CHRS 149;: FOR t=c TO cw: PRINT CHRS 150;:
REXT t: PRINT CHRS 151: POKB lower,2: RETURN

Listing t (cnr)

Sinclair/Timex Wewsletter January 1988 page 6

that RANDOMIZE USR 59199 will
eave the current screen, and
RANDOMIZE USR 59211 will copy it
back. Try thie: LIST, RANDOMIZE
USR 59199, CLS, then RANDOMIZE
USR 59211.

In the listing, STORE
address cf the first
RENBY is the second,
je oa eysten variable that
controls the lower part of the
screan (the 2068's edit line).
Line 10 redefines some UDG
charactera for the window
borders.

is the
routine,
and LOVER

WS holda the window width,
depth, row, and column position

for a window. GOSUB 9000 checks
that your window will fit on the

eersen, blanks out that part of
the ecreen, printe a nice
looking border around the

window, and returns. At thie
point, your program can print
what it wante to in the window;
bowever, {it is up to the
programmer to keep the text
within the borders of tha window
by printing at the right
locations!

When you are through with «a
window, RASDOMNIZE USR renew will
reosl] the ortginal screen.

In the next iseus, we will
take a look at what ie required
to implement a more
sophisticated windowing utility
that can bandle wraparound,
ecrolling within a window, and
multiple windows.

-Jim Rodlin

Comments? Queetiona?
Write to mal My address is
66 Chandler Street
Marlboro, MA 01752.

TELECOMMUSICATIONS on the QL

The QL, for all {ts power and
versatility, is limited in tele-
communicating at 300 baud without
a hardware link between the
serial port and the maden.

Mike Mitchell submitted the
following. It will get you on
Line at 300 (or even 1200) baud

with a Hayes compatible modem.

1 REMark 300/1200 baud terninal
2 REMark MIKE_TERE

3 REMark developed by

4 REMark MICHAEL KITCHELL

S REMark attribution requested
© REMark Sinclair/Timex User Group
7 REMark Boston Computer Society

100 WINDOW 405,204,6,0

105 BORDER 1,0,7: LB=127

110 CLS: POKE 163976,255: CLS#0

120 PRINT#O,, "Choose Baud: H=1200,
La=300"

130 IF IWKEY$(-1)=<='h' THEW BAUD
1200: ELSE BAUD 300

140 CLS#0 : OPEN #5, ser2t

150 PRIBT@O, ,"PS=quit”,"ALT*C="c",
“t=<BEL”

160 REPeat term

170 terminal: PRINT#O, ,°Exit?(y/n)!

180 [FP IBREYS(-1)=="y' THEM BXIT
term

190 EBD REPeat term

200 CLOSE#5

205 PRINT#O, ,"Re-run/Quit? (r/q>"

210 IF INKEYS(-1)2="r" THEN RUN:
ELSE STOP

220 DEFine PROCedure terminal

230 REPeat key_loop

B40 a=CODE CISKBYS (#5, 0)>&&LB

250 IF a=13 THER PRINT

260 IF a=7 THBN BEEP 2000, 15
270 1P 9>31 THEW PRINT CHRS (a);
280 b=CODRUINKEYS>

290 IP b=248 THEN EXIT key loop
300 LF b=258 THEN b=0

310 IF b=O THEN NEXT key_loop
320 IP b=10 THEN b=13

330 IF b=208 THEN b=7
340 PRIET #5,CHRS$(b);
350 BND REPeat key_loop
360 RETurno

370 EXD DEFine terminal

Save as MIKE _TERM_bas

Bloclair/Timex Sewsletter January 1988 page 7

This is not bare-bones progran.
t has a bell (but no whistles).

Also, it gets around a problem
or QL's communicating with many
inclair BBS'’s that cail for CTRL
: to end a message.

The QL's operating system trape
[TRL C. MIKE_TERM uses ALT CTRL C
so send & CTRL C. See line 300.

After
toad) =oand run
attached to ser2
ate and then go on-line. Fow
yet the modem's attention by
atarting any command with AT.

keying in the program,
it with the modem
Choose a baud

Send any improvements and/or

facilities for up-loading or
jown-loading files to the Editor.

MIKE_TERM worke even better when
compiled.

Try 4t out on Sob Cutter's
Plexi _BBS at 648-7651, Arlington,
or on Jim Rodlin's TIME_WARP at
481-0555 in Marlboro.

PSION PRODUCTIVITY TIPS

This column will carry tips on
making your life easier with the

Psion programs that come with a
QL computer. After all product—
ivity is supposed to be what a

computer is all about.

Tom BENT, CATS, suggests not
printing letters one by one when
typing a series of letters.
Instead, ‘print’ the letter toa
file. (F3, P, <BNTER>, <ENTERD)
followed by the name of the
letter, instead of the default

Sinclair/Timex Fewsletter January 1988

offered by Quilt. ALL printer
control codes are now in the
file.

At session's end, in SuperBASIC,
use a TOOLKIT Il extension. With
the printer_dat in drive 1, type
either SPL mdv2_xyz_lis (a series
of which can be easily chained)

or WCOPY mdv2_,serl. Either way
can set the QL to print «a series

of files while you get on about
(the rest of) your life.

Peter Hale, BCS, suggests making
custom labels, trom return
addres@es to:

WARRING
MAGNETIC DATA MEDIA
DO NWOT X_RAY OR MAGFETISE

are useful. Pive hundred 15/16"
jabels cost under a 1/2¢ each.

In a Quill document set the
design ta Battom 0, Upper 0, Page
O and set the Footer ta none.
Create 5 61x line label (blank
lines included) and copy it ten
times (11 in all> for a 66 line
document. Print as many sets as
needed in the short term and sava
asa _doc file for future use.

Por a quick and dirty address
book use ABACUS. Reserve a

column for each category (first_
nape, last_name, phone, Christmas

card, e@etc.>.

Enter information without regard
for alpha order, one row to &
Listing. Now use the command F3,
O(rder? on the column with the
last name. Frint it out.

To revise a listing, prese FS,
last. jones to go directly to the
row with your friend John Jones.

Are you constantly turning aft
your printer to formfeed the
last page of your Quill docusent?
Is your printer dat file set to
have FR as the postamble code?

page &

BOOK REVIFV

Taking the Quantum Leap py Mike
dea Sosa. Published by Time
Designs Magazine Co. $26.00 ppd.

Mike ie a regular contributor on
subjects QL to magazines. He has
a love affair with this computer.

That love affair does not extend
to the QL User Guide, which fails
short of what enthustasts have
expected from Sinclair manuals.

Taking the Quantum Leap its a

professtonal tratner's rewrite of

the User Guide the way it should
have been done the firet time.

Where TtQL succeads it suceeds
edmirably. It ie well written
and shows the professionalism of
an expertenced trainer. The
writing style ts easier to follow
and program examples are a lot
more versatile and = instructive
than many in the QLuG.

The book cross-references the
@LUG AND has an tndex, a feature
madly lacktng in the QLuG.

Bach PSION application progran
is covered as is SuperBASIC. The
keywords in SuperBasic have their
own Appendix and wieely have sin
ilar keywords grouped together.
The book would have been even
better !f the pattern had been
consistently followed.

, TteL is not without ita
failings. Reviews elsawhere have
spoken glowingly of this book.
but unfortunately it haa many of

the same failings as the Luc,
primarily in ite lack aft
thoroughness, but also with tts
share of typos and errors.

There are good tips, but sume
are plain wrong. Page 51 implies
that you can save a Quill or

Abacus file with an underscore in
‘the middle of thea name. It just
doesn’t work.

One helpful tip with Archive is
to export files to QLWP by using
“text’ instead of ‘quill', a
point not covered in the QLUG.

Where [ftQL really shines is its
tabiea that lay out commands and

functions in a readily viewed
form and in examples and tips for
getting immediate praductivity
gains from your Psion programs.

Setting up your printer p160-162
has really helpful tips, but the
saction on using translate codes
to accesa type face options seems
like it left out a page of
explanation.

Taking the Quantum Leap should
have a eecond edition with about
50 more pages. The chapter on
New Developments should either be
more expansive on its software
reviews and descriptions or do
away with many of thes. There is
asense that some descriptions
were written from advertisements.

An Appendix of useful Pokes
would be helpful, and alone worth
the price of the book. More

examples in the SuperBASIC key-
words Appendix wouldn't hurt.

As a supplement to QLUG, ItQL is
terrific. But it qs “net a
replacement nor does it try toa
be. Keep that in mind and you
won't be diteappointed. And if

the clear writing style helps you
understand only a few new aspects
of your computer, you will, as I
did, cheer Mike's book and give
thanks in your nightly prayers
for bie hard work.

Binclatr/Timex Newsletter January 1988 page 9

CLOUDS OW A QL

Al Boehm uses his QL at the Air

Force Geophysics Laboratory and
takes it on trips to demonstrate
the results of his work. He
submitted this delightful Super-
BASIC program to display mean
eloud contours.

It ig a good demonstration of
how SuperBASIC passes parameters
and how to use SCALE coordinates.
lowas taken with Al's use of
variables to set WINDOV's.

1 REMark test of contour using a
math function.
e REMark 20 Dec 1987
3 REMark by A. Boehm
100 nnx*6: ony*6: DIM z(nnx, nay)
110 FOR i20 TO nanx
120 FOR j=0 TO ony
130 201, $>*LOKSINCL/10K24P1+
J/OX24P1)+ 14572
135 RBMark also try z(1,J)=104RBD
140 «NEXT J
150 NEXT 1
160 contour 7, nnx,nny
170 STOP
180 DEFine PROC contour (z, nx, ny?)
188 REMark Prints banded contours
of the values in z. Use MODE 6
for best results. A contour
interval of 1 16 aesumed. For
other contour intervals, let
zi, jo=z2(1,§)/contour_interval
before calling contour.
190 across=611: down=253: lafted:
top=0
200 WIBDOW across, down, left, top
210 PAPER 0:CLS
220 SCALE ny,0,0
225 dxsacrossx, 628/downkny/nx
230 yline=ny/down
240 FOR j=0 TO ny-1
250 x1=0: x2=dx
260 FOR 1=0 TO nx-1
270 con_a_block z(1,J?,2(1+1,)>,
zh JF1?, 2441, 419,45
280 x12x2: x2"x2tdx
290 WEXT 1
800 WEXT j
310 RETurn
320 END DEFine contour
330 DEPine FROCedure con_a_block
(a,b, ¢,d, ystart>
340 LOCal dz,fx,x,1.3

Sinclatr/Timex Newsletter January 1986

350 aa=a:bb=b

360 daylinek(c-a>

370 db=ylinex(d—b>

380 FOR y=ystart TO ystart+1 STEP
yline

390 PDINT xil,y

400 i=INT(aa>: J=INT (bb)

410 INK 1 KOD &

420 IF t=) THEE LINE TO x2,y:
GO TO 530

430 Gz2ABS (bb-aa): n*ABS(j-1)

440 fxeaa-1:1F 1<j) THEN fx=1-fx

450 1P n=1 THEN LIBB_R TO
fxktdx/dz,0: GO TO 520

460 fy=b-J: IF j>1 THEN up=i:
ELSE up*-1:fyel-fy

470 x=edx/dz

480 LINE_R TO fxtx,0

490 FOR k=i+up TO j-up STZP up

500 INK k MOD 8:LINE_R TO x,0

510 EXD FOR k

820 INK J MOD 8:LINE TO x2,y

530 aasaatda: bbebpotdb

340 END FOR y

880 END DEFine con_a_ block

Save this as contour_it_baa.

POKING A OL

Before loading an executable
vrogram. FOKE 98403. 126.

Although the screen goes nasty
and vou lose the curser. Exec the

program. Watch the screen.

Still without a cursor? POKE
99403.0.

Kevboardd too slow on vour OL?

FORB_W 163980,12: POKE_W 363982.0
This can be included as a line in
your Quill boot. if you are a
rapid typist. If 12 is too much.
try a lower number tn the first
POKE.

For more POKE's. trv the QDoSs

Companion. hv Andrew Pennell. and
published by Sunshine Fress.

page 10

QUAETA

Most QL owners are now aware of
QUANTA (QL Users And Tinkerers
Ase@ociation) which publishes a
monthly newsletter of software
and hardware reviews and
worldwide doings with the QL.
Annual weabership witb airmail
delivery is £17 from:

The Secretary
Brian Faine

24 Oxford St.

Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes
United Kingdom, MK11 1JU

Phone: O11 44 908 864271

You can charge to VISA cr MC.
Membership entities yor to the
library of software tor the QL

which currently runs 350 programs
on 16 DS/QD datsks and covers

everything from desktop publish—
ing to dozens of games and 157
utilities.

Some programs have royalty fees
ranging up to $12.00 but are
otherwise at-cost for the discs.

The most recent library update
has arrived in the States and can
be purchased from Tom Bent, the
QUANTA sub-librarian here. Tom is
at 9016 Flicker Fl., Columbia, xD
21045. Phone: (301) 730-7187.

TER RETURE OF ‘ VAL"

Dne of Sinclair Bagtcs' mor
valuable contributions ta th
BASIC language were the keyword

VAL and VALS. These permitte
formulae to be entered as tex
strings and then be evaluated. BF
other BASIC was 6c cooperative.

QL SuperBaSIc instituted
feature called coercion the
maaot that if as2°4* ang »v=2, on
could print a$t*b and get 5.

tn theory coercion did away wit

the need for VAL. However
coercton would terminate at tr
first sign of a non-numerice

character. Thus, if as='4*2'° ar
b=3, the result of a$tb would ft
7 and not 11.

Now comes VAL for thea QLt!

The most recent update of tk
QUANTA library tncludes a serte
of files and extensions that aa
VAL to your repeatoire of Super
BASIC keywords and allow it to t
included in compiled programs.

For those who need it, it’

worth the memberehip in QUART?
Available on DISK 15, for whic
there ia a small royalty charge

Contact Tom Bent, (301-731-7187?
the American sub-Librarian fc
QUANTA, for more information.

Sioclair/Tigex Sewaletter January 19688 page 11

WEVSLETTFR FEATURES

Do you want any special features
.0 this newsletter?

The following are suggested.

WANT ADS - to buy or sell sur-
aius software/hardware. Up to 6
lines free to BCS member with
ghotocopy of current BCS member-
ship card; £3.00 to othere.

THE DEDICATED COMPUTER. O1d
microprocessors never die; they
ryecome dedicated computers. Many
aave used the ZX-81/TS-1000 as a
dedicated interface with the real
world. The column will solicit
now-to articles.

SINCLAIR PROFILES. Do you or
gomaone you know vee a Sinclair
somputer ina novel, interesting
ar profitable way for bueineses or
pleasure? Write a profile for
thie column. (A PROFILE, nota
biography.) Get to it or the
aditor may do it on yout

Contact the editor, me, Peter
Yale through the BCS Offica mail

syatem (slow) or my Box 8763,
Boston, MA 02114 Phone (617)
723-8545 (better).

Einclatr/Timez Newsletter January 1988 page 12

Sinclair/Timex Newaletter January 1985 page 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Calendar 1
Phone Directory 1
Edttorial 1
TE Crner 2
Supplier Rotes. 3

Telecommunications and the

Timex’Sinclair Computer 3
SOFTWARE Library 4
2068 Windows 3-7
Telecommunications on the OL 7
PSION Productivity Tivos 8
Book Review (Taking the Quantum Leap) 9

Clouds on a OL 16
POKING a OL 10
QUANTA i
The Return of ‘VAL’ 12
Rewsletter Peatures 12
Hardware Tin for OL 12
Calendar 14

CALENDAR CHANGES

THE OL SUB—-GROUP MEETS
ON JANUARY 16. 1988.

THE LISTING $3IN THE
BCS CALENDAR IS WRONG.

SEE PAGF 1

Sinclatr/Timex Newsletter January 1988 page 14